Fa’amausili Mau Mau Jr. reinstated as OMV Manager

Fa’amausili Mau Mau Jr. has been reinstated as the Manager for the Office of Motor Vehicles.

Last month, when Fa’amausili was off island, Commissioner of Public Safety Tuaolo Manaia Fruean issued a memorandum dated June 6, 2012 appointing Police Commander Afui’ai Lee Vaouli as the new manager for OMV.

The memorandum stated Fa’amausili’s contract had expired and it was not being renewed. According to the June memorandum, the contract dated June 2009 was rescinded, and American Samoa Administrative Code title 4 was referenced.

However, Fa’amausili told Samoa News when he arrived back into the territory that no one, not even the Commissioner can replace him because he was assigned by Governor Togiola Tulafono to work with the Department of Public Safety.

Fa’amausili was back to work at the OMV yesterday and did not wish to respond to Samoa News inquiries. Fa’amausili said that all queries must be addressed to Commissioner Tuaolo.

Calls to Commissioner Tuaolo and Deputy Commissioner Leiseau Laumoli were not answered as of news time. In 2009, Fa’amausili, a former senator, was assigned by the governor to be the special assistant to the Commissioner of Public Safety.

Then Commissioner Tuaolo moved to re-assign Fa’amausili to oversee the operation of the Office of Motor Vehicles, replacing former OMV Manager Marie Ripley who is charged in connection with the issuance of a forged driver’s license for a Tongan national, and faces counts of forgery, possession of a forging instrument, and public servant acceding to corruption.